Key Objects
Guðbrandur's Bible
Key Object for the Time Period 1400-1600
Printing was introduced to Iceland around 1530, when Bishop Jón Arason acquired a small printing press, with a Swedish printer to operate it. Initially, only religious texts were printed, and right from the start almost all publications were in Icelandic, which became the language of the church in Iceland. Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson had the first Icelandic Bible printed at Hólar in 1584.
Guðbrandsbiblía (Guðbrandur’s Bible), was the first translation of the entire Bible printed in Icelandic. Five hundred copies were printed, a process that took two years. Every church was required to contribute one rixdollar to the project, and to purchase one copy of the Bible. Well into the 19th century many churches had copies of Guðbrandur’s Bible, which is still regarded as a masterpiece of the printer’s art. This copy belonged to Bishop Guðbrandur’s daughter, Kristín, and then to her son, Þorlákur Arason of Staðarfell, and it was in the church there for centuries. The binding is original.